Neiman Marcus Files For IPO

American luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group Inc. appears to be taking the IPO route to debt relief.

After a decade of private ownership — the company was most recently snapped up by Ares Management LLC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) in 2013 for $6 billion — Neiman filed a registration for an initial public offering with the Securities & Exchange Commission on Tuesday.

The filing will serve as a placeholder, since the company has yet to determine the number of shares to be offered and its price range.

“Due to regulatory restrictions, I cannot comment on the filing. Any updates will come from the SEC,” a spokesperson for Neiman Marcus told Footwear News via e-mail.

This is the second time the retailer—which operates 41 full-line stores, two Bergdoff Goodman stores and the MyTheresa brand—has set out to sell its shares to the public.

In 2013, Neiman Marcus’ owners at the time, TPG and Warburg Pincus, contemplated a similar path — filing their own registration for an IPO — but ultimately found a suitor in Ares Management and CPPIB.

In Tuesday’s filing, the company said the combined productivity of its 43 full-line stores was $589 per square foot for the twelve-month period ended May 2, 2015.

“We are one of the largest omnichannel luxury fashion retailers in the world, with approximately $4.8 billion in revenues for fiscal year 2014, of which approximately 24 percent were transacted online,” the company said in the document. “Our Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and MyTheresa brands are synonymous with fashion, luxury and style.”

The company, which caters to “educated, affluent and digitally connected clientele” — 79 percent of which are female and approximately 38 percent of which have a median household income of over $200,000 — has experienced its share of slumping sales in recent years.

In its most recent quarter however, the company saw improvement when it posted revenues of $1.22 billion compared to $1.16 billion in the prior year and net earnings of $19.8 million compared to a net loss of $8 million in the prior year.